Sunset Magazine's Whole Orange Cake

Total Time: 1 hr 10 mins Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 55 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 12
• 1 cup butter, softened (*not* margarine!)
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract (*)
• 2 oranges, ends trimmed, then cut into chunks and seeded (about 1 lb. total-save some zest for garnishing the finished cake)
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom (*)
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar (i only used maybe 2/3 cup total)
• 3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
• 1/2 teaspoon orange blossom water (*)
• toasted almond, chopped (*)
• orange zest

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 325°. coat a 10-cup bundt pan with butter. i don't have a bundt pan anymore and used a tube pan instead.
• 2 in a large bowl with a mixer on medium speed, beat butter and granulated sugar until fluffy. beat in eggs (and almond extract if using.) note: i used my kitchenaid stand up mixer to prep the batter.
• 3 whirl orange chunks in a food processor until mostly smooth but not puréed. add the orange chunks to the batter and beat until blended.
• 4 add flour, salt, (cardamom if using), baking soda, and baking powder to bowl and beat until smooth. spread batter in prepared pan.
• 5 bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with only a few crumbs clinging to it, about 55 minutes. cool pan on a rack 10 minutes, then invert cake onto rack and let cool completely.
• 6 whisk together powdered sugar and orange juice in a small bowl. stir in orange blossom water if using. drizzle over cooled cake.
• 7 let glaze set (garnish with toasted almonds if using) and the orange zest, then slice cake.